NGC6960 & 6979 Western Veil & Pickering’s Triangle (Hα)

With Cygnus high just now there are so many different targets, this is one that I missed last year. It extends further than this but I can get most of in the my field of view. 20 minute subs bring out a lot of fine nebulosity but I really need more to keep the noise down. Once the moon has gone I can try and get some O3 and then maybe S2 as this area has great separation between the different spectral lines.

The Veil Nebula, is part of the Cygnus Loop, radio source W78, or Sharpless 103. Other parts of the loop include the ‘Eastern Veil’, the ‘Western Veil’ or ‘Witch’s Broom Nebula’, and Pickering’s Triangular Wisp. It is a large, relatively faint supernova remnant in the constellation Cygnus. The source supernova exploded some 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, and the remnants have since expanded to cover an area of ~3×3 degrees; about 6 times the diameter or 36 times the area of a full moon. The distance to the nebula is not precisely known, with estimates ranging from 1,400 to 2,600 light-years. It was discovered on 1784 September 5 by William Herschel. He described the western end of the nebula as “Extended; passes thro’ 52 Cygni… near 2 degree in length.” and described the eastern end as “Branching nebulosity… The following part divides into several streams uniting again towards the south.”